More than ten minutes had passed since Starlight left Trixie's trailer, leaving her deeply asleep friend behind, well settled in her bed. Or so she had thought.
Suddenly, Trixie, who until that moment had been in what seemed like a deep sleep induced by exhaustion and sweet cider, sprung up. Agile as a rabbit, she threw the sheets off and tossed her plush toy aside. Without wasting a second, she peeked through the peephole of the door, overcome by a pressing feeling of insecurity.
There was no one outside. Starlight had left without any issues, heading home. It was safe.
"Ahhh hu," Trixie groaned exhaustedly, collapsing heavily against the door, causing the whole trailer to creak.
She didn't feel well.
Trixie had returned a few days ago from her trip to Babilopony. Since then, she hadn't heard much about the crisis that had occurred a few weeks earlier at the school. It wasn't until that same night, during the party, that she learned fully about the great disaster that had unfolded in Ponyville and its surroundings during her absence.
Terror and chaos. Swarms of Brain-Eating Octopus Orchids slithering freely through the gardens and streets of the town. Pony citizens under the mental control of cephalopods, students cornered in the school, buildings destroyed, crops burned, direct intervention by a princess...
It was too much. Trixie just nodded and drank cider to everything the other teachers and friends told her. The crisis had been barely contained with the effort of the Young Six led by Starlight and concluded with the very timely intervention of Princess Candace, who was visiting the Friendship School during those dark days.
In the end, there were no irreparable losses to lament, apart from the material damages and the traumatized ponies.
The investigation was still ongoing, and as always, the Everfree Forest was the prime suspect for the origin of the plague. Still, there were many unanswered questions in the air, all accompanied by rumors...
("Days before, they said they had seen those monsters lurking in the swamp.")
("Heavens... I heard that the school's bio-garden was full of those pests! How dreadful!")
("Some outsider must have brought them, those creatures aren't from around here.")
Leaving behind the exhausting facade of innocence she had maintained during the party and until recently, Trixie sank further into the floor of the trailer. Unfortunately, she knew all too well the truth of what had happened.
"Starlight, I'm sorry... truly sorry... blame those deceitful camel salesmen of Eucalyptus grease!" Trixie exclaimed, part regretful and part furious. There, at the lowest point of her pride, she covered her face with her hooves, imagining her friend's disappointed gaze if she were there to witness and hear her.
Several months ago...
(Trixie was joyfully strolling on the outskirts of Ponyville when she accidentally stumbled upon a fair showcasing incredible tools and objects for spectacles. Run by an eloquent group of camels, the innocent Trixie was fascinated by their exotic products. Trusting in the noble words of the sellers, she spent a good portion of her saved fortune as a student counselor to purchase such accessories that would undoubtedly make her own circus spectacles even greater and more incredible. Confident in her actions and with the blessing of the fair owners, Trixie left with a big smile, imagining how happy she would make her friends when she shared her new wonders with them.)
Yes, this was the imaginary explanation that Trixie repeated to herself and would tell anyone else who discovered the truth. Of course, she would never mention that she was at that fair at midnight. Nor would she mention that the supposed fair happened every moon in a dark and unknown cave within the Everfree Forest. Much less would she say that it wasn't the first time she had done business with those suspicious-looking camels.
Trixie had simply been a victim of a vile deception. That was all.
Among the many clandestine products she had acquired was one quite unusual: a cluster of Octopus Rose seeds.
The Octopus Rose is an exotic creature that lives in the remote tropical forests far south of Equestria. More than just a beautiful and unique pet, they are extremely sensitive and fragile creatures with a very specific diet, which makes them extremely expensive to raise in captivity. However, such an investment of resources could be compensated by the enormous income that could be obtained from these creatures. The white ink of the Octopus Rose is one of the most expensive and sought-after in the market. With multiple uses both scientific and magical, any product that has an input derived from this ink would multiply its price up to ten times its original value. It could be said that having a nest of Octopus Roses was akin to having a living gold mine.
Thus, Trixie hadn't bought the Octopus Roses out of mere greed. These creatures were also known to produce a very special resin that, when used in fireworks, could increase their durability and luminosity and even make them susceptible to enchantments.
Thinking of the endless possibilities, Trixie hadn't hesitated to acquire them despite their exorbitant price. That same night, she secretly planted them in the bio-garden of the Friendship School, being the only place where she could keep these creatures in good condition. In secret, she cared for and fed them in the hope that Starlight would forgive her once they matured and shared the profits with her.
However, misfortune soon opened her eyes.
The creatures that sprouted from Trixie's secret garden of hopes were not the defenseless Octopus Roses, but fierce Octopus Orchids, dangerous monsters known for parasitizing their prey with mental domination, which they then slowly consumed their brains.
Furious at the deception and even more terrified by the monstrous truth, Trixie ripped out the Octopus Orchid garden by the roots and transported it to Froggy Bottom Swamp to get rid of it. Thus, throwing the monsters into the swamps left the problem solved. Trixie left extremely disappointed, without thinking too much about how nature would take care of those dangerous creatures. In the following days of her trip, the only thing that bothered her was how she could recover all the savings she had lost.
What happened next was known history.
"Why do these things always happen to me?! Why?!" Trixie cried out, pacing around on the floor as guilt gnawed at her from within...
The sound of a thud echoed from the window. Immediately, Trixie stood up and looked around, alarmed.
There was nothing but a branch hitting the window due to the wind.
Once again, Trixie sighed in relief. Then, distracted, she caught sight of her reflection in one of the mirrors beside her bed.
She looked pathetic. Her entire white mane was disheveled and filled with remnants of her belongings. Her face, which always displayed a confident and intriguing expression, now wore a tired and fearful look. Her skin, which used to shimmer with a magnetic blue glow, now appeared sickly gray.
There was no trace of the Great and Powerful Trixie everyone knew.
"ENOUGH!" Trixie shouted, regaining the sparkle in her eyes. Using her magic, she grabbed a water bottle and poured its entire contents over her head. She ran a towel over her fur, a fan and a large comb danced through her mane, then some special makeup powders on her face. Under a spark from her own horn's light, Trixie, who had kept her eyes closed until that moment, opened them.
The dazzling reflection of the Great and Powerful Trixie returned a proud gaze to her.
"All right, dear Trixie, that's much better. What happened, happened. It's time to think about tomorrow," she said to herself as she grabbed a notebook. "There's no time to waste. Our friendship with Starlight could be in danger. It's time for you to focus and think about how to fix it."
After giving herself that command, Trixie elegantly took a seat on a tiny bench, lit some candles, and began jotting down her ideas. She didn't care if it took her all night and she didn't sleep. She would ignore fatigue and sleepiness. Once the Great and Powerful Trixie decided to do something, there was nothing in this world that could stop her.
Was there anything that could stop the Great and Powerful Trixie in this world?
The list of options was long, but among them, there were some answers that hardly anyone would consider.
One of those options was being attacked by a horde of pony-zombies in the middle of the night, and that was precisely what was happening.
Under the light of a gloomy moon...
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa hauuuuuu!" Trixie screamed as she galloped desperately through the forest. Behind the unicorn, hordes of pony-zombies possessed by Octopus Orchids chased her.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Trixie sobbed as she galloped at full speed.
"TRIXIEE! BRAIN! TRIXIE! BRAIN!" the zombies clamored, closing in quickly.
Soon, Trixie's path began to sink, and she reached a hollow where it was no longer possible to continue.
"It wasn't my intention! It was an accident! You have to believe me!" Trixie pleaded, now cornered by the zombies surrounding her.
"ALWAYS TRIXIE! ALWAYS WITHOUT BRAIN!" a familiar voice sounded among the ranks of zombies. They parted, and from among them emerged a familiar face.
Starlight advanced towards Trixie, but there was no need to guess her state. A huge cephalopod writhed over her head, while the pony's body moved spasmodically. Her foamy drool splattered in all directions, and only her eyes, now swollen and about to pop out of their sockets, were firmly fixed on her friend.
It was a horrifying sight. Trixie trembled, terrified and unable to look away.
"Starlight... I..."
"RAASHTTGDFFGFG!" the zombified Starlight shouted at her in what was an obvious order for silence.
Trixie closed her eyes amidst tears, resigned to her fate. She preferred to be devoured by the remains of her friend than by any other pony. She thought it was a fair punishment as her friend's foul breath spread on her face and her drool splattered over her.
But something else happened.
Trixie then felt a strange warmth behind her, as if the rays of dawn were hitting her back. She opened her eyes, and all the pony-zombies, including the zombified Starlight, recoiled, terrified by the blinding light that enveloped them from the front. Trixie turned around and saw an impressive scene.
There was a mare towering above all, enveloped in a light akin to a golden sun, her body was a flat silhouette of shadows with undulating mane, her bright eyes revealed the unique magic within her being. There was no trace of malice or threat emanating from her, but rather a halo of holiness.
Trixie squinted and saw her more clearly. The mare had a horn and wings, it was clear, she was a worthy alicorn princess.
The mysterious alicorn began to advance towards Trixie with calm and majestic steps, behind her was an enigmatic triangular portal of light.
"Do not be afraid, Trixie Lulamoon. Come with me," said a soft and familiar voice.
"What? Who, me? Wait, who are you? What's...?" Trixie couldn't finish her words. At that moment, the light from the triangular portal extended towards them, and both disappeared in a rainbow beam.
Trixie opened her eyes, hadn't she done it before?
Confused, she looked around. The place where she was... was strange. Everything was hazy. Starry lights surrounded her, as if she were in a corridor of transparent glass and outside of it, the cosmos sprawled in the vastness of darkness. In front of her, the towering figure of the alicorn with bright eyes watched her without blinking.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Trixie asked, confused.
"It's a safe place, Trixie. Please, come with me," said the mysterious alicorn. Without saying more, she turned and began to walk down the strange corridor.
"Wait..." said Trixie, trying to reach her, but when she stood up... she felt dizzy. As if she had just woken up from a heavy dream.
A dream.
"THAT'S IT! THIS IS A DREAM! OF COURSE! HAHAHA!" Trixie slapped her forehead with a hoof and burst into laughter, finally understanding where she was. She was dreaming, and the alicorn who had brought her there was Princess Luna, who had rescued her from a terrible nightmare.
Although.
She didn't remember Princess Luna being so tall... or having that voice...
More importantly... Wasn't Princess Luna retired?
Trixie's thoughts continued to wander as her laughter was replaced by confusion. On the other hand, the mysterious alicorn continued to move forward without turning back, soon her silhouette faded into the bright mist that flooded the corridor.
Silence surrounded her.
"Wait! WAIT! PRINCESS LUNA!" Trixie exclaimed, startled to realize she had been left behind. She ran down the corridor trying to reach her savior. She passed through the fog and suddenly found herself in a slightly different place.
An endless corridor stretched out until it vanished from view. On both sides of the corridor's blurry walls, large white doors stood wide open, in bright glassy arches.
Surprised, Trixie cautiously advanced. But driven by an uncontrollable curiosity, she peeked her head through one of the doors...
"Let every pony's eye see and admire the most magical and exceptional unicorn in all of Equestria, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" A young Trixie waved her hooves adorably in the middle of a huge stage. Her audience, a large crowd of adult and foal ponies, watched the foal talent show with great amusement. In the farthest part of the crowd was her father, admiringly watching his daughter's first performance.
From the timeless door, the adult Trixie watched in awe as her past self impressed her audience with the flawless hat-trick.
"What's going on? Am I here but also there...?" exclaimed Trixie, trying to understand what she saw. Suddenly, guided by a strong feeling, she began to check the other doors.
As her instincts had made her notice, the entire corridor was filled with doors that showed her moments from her past.
Her grand first performance.
Her memorable first live mishap.
Her first solo trip.
Her first encounter with Twilight. (She skipped over that and the others involving her)
Her first encounter with Starlight.
"This is weird," Trixie said aloud without losing her pace.
That corridor of nostalgia was bewildering and gave her no clues, nor was there any trace of Princess Luna or whoever that mysterious alicorn was. Had she taken the wrong path?
Or hadn't she?
In her mental effort to understand what was happening, a memory came to her along with an absurd but hopeful idea.
"Is it possible? Really? I could be wrong, RIGHT?!" exclaimed Trixie nervously, her little heart began to beat harder as she hurried back to the beginning of that passage.
Trixie galloped back down the hallway, checking each door and excitedly recalling every special moment of her life. With each door she checked, with each good memory she relived, the small idea that had illuminated her grew stronger, filling her with immense anxiety and excitement.
Long ago, Starlight had told her of a similar magical situation, of how a humble pony could become something more...
COULD IT BE THAT DESTINY WAS FINALLY CATCHING UP TO HER?!
Trixie had never spoken very highly of alicorn princesses, especially Twilight. Whenever someone mentioned the topic, she would say things like, "She's nothing special," "She's just a pony with wings and a horn," "Any pony can do the same with enough magic," etc.
But deep down, she also wanted to be an alicorn. Perhaps she was being a bit petty, as there were other ponies who could rightfully claim that title, even Starlight, in her eyes, deserved the title of princess more than Twilight herself. She didn't feel worthy either, but if the opportunity arose, she wouldn't hesitate to take it.
She soon spotted the tall silhouette of the mysterious alicorn. Forgetting she was in a dream, without wasting a second, she rushed towards her and gave her a big hug.
"I'M READY!" exclaimed Trixie, excitedly, with eyes shining brightly with excitement caused by her deepest and most honest desire.
The mysterious alicorn didn't respond. In fact, she didn't pay her any attention whatsoever. She just watched attentively inside one of the doors.
A strange reaction. Startled, Trixie immediately stepped back. The warmth of the mysterious alicorn's coat felt very familiar and... unpleasant? Now that she saw her up close, she didn't resemble Princess Luna, yet she felt as if she was facing someone she already knew but couldn't recognize.
Observing her carefully, she noticed a great nostalgia in the lost gaze of that alicorn.
Confused, Trixie looked in the same direction...
"Are you sure about your decision?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.
"Yes," Starlight replied.
This was the main office of the Friendship School's principal. And in the principal's seat at the desk, indeed, sat Director Starlight with a stern look befitting the conversation at hand.
On the other side was Chancellor Neighsay with a similar expression.
"I can understand that the recent regrettable events may have changed your previous response to my proposal; however, I wouldn't want to create any misunderstandings with Princess Twilight. A private meeting between the three of us would be a very opportune event."
"I can schedule a meeting for next week. Clarifying this matter as soon as possible would be very beneficial for everyone."
"I agree," the Chancellor responded with an intriguing smile. Starlight replied in kind.
Trixie, who was watching the scene, didn't understand what was happening. Starlight looked different. Trixie had accompanied her to numerous school meetings in the past and knew how nervous she could sometimes get. However, there was something about her current demeanor that made her think that something was off.
She didn't look like the confident pony she knew.
"If I may inquire, how do you plan to handle the matter of your 'friend'?" the Chancellor suddenly asked.
"Ahem. Leave it to me. It won't be an obstacle in the next transition phase," Starlight replied with an initial unusual clumsiness.
"I understand. I trust that the ongoing investigation at the school won't find you as a suspect. But if that were to happen..."
"She wouldn't dare," Starlight responded for the first time with a furrowed brow.
"Criminal acts of this magnitude cannot be concealed, Director Starlight, and while I admire your loyalty to your colleague, the law is the law," the Chancellor replied with a cold tone.
Starlight sighed, looking up at the ceiling, and after a few seconds...
"Well... what do you propose?" she finally responded, resigned.
"Don't worry, it's nothing significant," Chancellor Neighsay replied with a wider smile. "Just some minor adjustments to next year's curriculum..."
Starlight, who seemed to have guessed the Chancellor's next words, closed her eyes and lowered her head.
"HEEEE!" Trixie exclaimed as she watched the door turn black and disappear from her sight. She turned around and discovered that the mysterious alicorn had been responsible for hiding that room with her magic.
"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT! WHAT'S GOING ON! ANSWER ME!" Trixie demanded indignantly. Seeing how her friend was clearly blackmailed by Chancellor Neighsay had put her in a very bad mood.
"IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT THE 'HAY' IS GOING ON, I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Trixie exclaimed furiously, sitting firmly on the floor. She had had enough of that mystery show.
The mysterious alicorn waved her horn, and one of the doors further down the hallway lit up. After a brief purple and lilac glow resembling that of a light bulb bursting, everything began to darken.
Trixie soon found herself surrounded by darkness, with only her illuminated by the light of her horn.
"THIS KIND OF TRICKS DOESN'T SCARE ME!" Trixie shouted arrogantly, but unease began to spread within her due to the noticeable silence around her.
A dripping sound suddenly echoed in the hallway. Trixie glanced around. The dripping was approaching... no, it was something different, it was... a trotting.
From the shadows that flooded the passage of black stone, the mature figures of Starlight and Trixie emerged with torches in a calm and confident trot.
"Seriously, the traps before were so dumb. Who puts a glass of milk and bread in the middle of a pedestal?" Trixie exclaimed bored.
"I don't know, but it's obvious that someone lives here. Shouldn't we go back?"
"Are you scared? Daring Do said this pyramid was safe. The big one is the really dangerous one. Boo!" Trixie responded carefree and trying to scare Starlight in a childish tone.
"I'm cautious, we're not as young as before, and what she said was that all pyramids were dangerous," Starlight scolded.
"Well, that's true... but we're not here for that reason. Reliving our youth by living on the edge and defying danger," Trixie said with a smile.
Starlight rolled her eyes, but she smiled too. Those were Starlight's words before entering that place, and the excitement she felt was the same as Trixie's.
After taking a few more steps, they reached a crossroads. The stone tunnel split into two paths. A large black statue of a stylized dog stood as a division point between both paths. Holding up a golden scale with one of its paws, the figure of the dog seemed like an ominous sign of impending judgment.
The top of the portal of each path was decorated with a symbol. The one on the left was a feather, and the one on the right was a heart.
Starlight's danger instincts kicked in. This was a turning point they couldn't ignore.
"Trixie, it would be best not to continue, this place is..." Starlight said, with overwhelming seriousness.
"I CHOOSE THE FEATHER!" Trixie exclaimed cheerfully and, with a reckless gallop, she ventured into the darkness of the left hallway.
"NO! WAIT! TRIXIE!" Starlight cried out, dismayed, as she began to run after her friend.
Both disappeared into the darkness.
Behind remained Trixie, her out-of-time self. She had a bitter taste in her mouth, as if she had already lived through that situation before, but when?
"Shouldn't I have done that?" she wondered aloud, with an expression of doubt.
A voice echoed behind her, breaking the silence of the mysterious place. "You should have chosen the heart," the voice said.
Trixie turned around, and there again was the mysterious alicorn, enveloped in a halo of lilac light.
"Friendship allows us to propel our friends to success, but sometimes also to failure..." murmured the mysterious alicorn, her words weighing in the air.
A drip began to echo in the tunnel, a sound that gradually intensified. Confused, Trixie sharpened her senses to locate the source of that sound, but it didn't seem to emanate from any specific point in the tunnel.
She took a few steps, and finally realized where the sound was coming from.
Tears were falling to the ground, one after another.
Trixie was crying. The echoes of her tears resonated throughout the tunnel. Why was she crying? She didn't know.
Then, a sudden understanding illuminated her mind.
The raw memory of what happened in that dark tunnel came crashing into her consciousness. The knowledge of the ominous future painfully poured into her carefree present, a truth she never would have wished to uncover.
Trixie realized that, once again, she had made a grave mistake, and this time, Starlight would be the one to pay the price for her actions.
"Hahahaha!" A diabolical laughter reverberated throughout the tunnel, as if emerging from the depths of the earth.
Trixie stood paralyzed, feeling a sulfuric smell fill the air, as the darkness took on sinister forms.
"What a wonderful offering for the darkness!" the volcanic voice continued, seeming to come from all directions. Suddenly, the walls of the tunnel were illuminated with a greenish light, similar to the glow of embers in a bonfire.
An evil being peeked its silhouette in the doorway of the tunnel to the left. It was a figure full of dreadful malice, a terrifying being that Trixie knew all too well...
"Trixie, don't let fear rule you! He has no power here! You must not allow..." the mysterious alicorn tried to advise with a firm voice.
But she wasn't heard.
Trixie struggled in the embrace of fear, overwhelming guilt suffocating her.
Her only option was to flee.
With tears in her eyes, Trixie rode desperately through the gloomy tunnel, her heart pounding with the fury of a locomotive about to crash. The cursed pyramid seemed to imprison her in its endless nightmare, while malevolent shadows stretched behind her like tentacles of a repugnant greenish glow. The sinister laughter kept echoing in every corner, and the ground trembled under the weight of its malignant voice. The tunnel walls, like ancient specters, began to crack, and shadows burst from the cracks like an unhealthy torrent, relentlessly pursuing her.
Desperation filled Trixie, and her strength dwindled with every gallop. But then, like a ray of hope amidst the darkness, she spotted a faint light in the distance. It was the way out.
With her last reserve of energy, she dashed towards the saving door. Finally, she emerged outside and, with an agile leap, veered off the main path of the door. A viscous torrent shot out like a burst pipe, taking grotesque shapes in its advance. As it moved, the liquid seemed to come to life on its own, spreading across the outside floor like hungry leeches.
Trixie, barely able to breathe, looked up. The noon sky was black as midnight, with unknown stars adorning it and celestial bodies she had never seen before. Looking down, she beheld the desert, now illuminated by fires stretching in long rows.
Then, the nauseating liquid that had flooded the place stopped, but it was followed by an even more terrifying omen.
Guided by an unknown will, the black liquid began to gather at a point on the ground, taking the form of a gigantic egg of shadows.
The immense shadow egg levitated and slowly approached Trixie, who trembled uncontrollably with fear.
"NO ONE CAN ESCAPE FROM THE DARKNESS!" bellowed the evil being emerging from the newly formed shadow egg. In his left claw, he held a long scimitar, and in the right, he held the unconscious body of Starlight. "FOR YOUR KINDNESS, I SHALL ALLOW YOU TO WITNESS HOW I CONSUME THIS OFFERING. FEEL LUCKY FOR MY MERCY, LITTLE PONY, HAHAHAHAHA."
"NO, NOT HER!" Trixie screamed, pleading through tears.
But her futile pleas only widened the smile of the evil being holding Starlight. In a shocking move, he raised his left claw, pointing towards the sky with his scimitar.
"WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" he screamed in a shriek of joy.
Trixie, paralyzed by terror, watched in slow motion as the scimitar descended, drawing fatally closer to her friend's neck.
It was the end.
Then, a burst of light. A beam of magic struck the evil being's claw, injuring him and forcing him to drop the scimitar. In a matter of seconds, it would have reached Starlight's neck.
The mysterious alicorn appeared above Trixie, her horn shining brightly, ready to confront the evil being.
"YOU! BLASPHEMER!" roared the evil being. "YOU CANNOT CHANGE DESTINY! IT'S USELESS!"
Tossing aside Starlight's body, the ambassador of darkness began to shoot green rays from his claws towards the mysterious alicorn, who responded with rays from her own horn. Both soared into the sky, engulfed in a fierce battle of magic.
Ignoring the bursts of light exploding around her, Trixie ran towards her friend who had fallen to the ground.
Cradling her in her hooves, a distraught Trixie rocked Starlight's unconscious body. Starlight lay pale and cold, with a serene expression on her face.
An even more intense explosion of light tore through the sky. An object fell near Trixie, raising a great cloud of dust. From amidst the dust, a silhouette rose, revealing the figure of the mysterious alicorn.
The shroud of mystery that had hidden her until then had disappeared.
"HAAAAAAAA" Trixie screamed with wide eyes, her amazement mingled with fear at this revelation.
The alicorn limped towards Trixie, her purple fur and mane recognizable, but with features Trixie had never seen before. The flowing mane she wore, her large size, as well as her golden attire... she was definitely not the same pony she knew.
Princess Twilight Sparkle advanced until she stopped in front of Trixie. She looked visibly wounded.
"Even in a dream, you're so strong..." murmured Twilight, exhausted and staggering, her gaze lost on the horizon.
"Twilight? Wait, what? How?!" exclaimed Trixie, confused and shocked, unable to understand what was happening.
Twilight turned her gaze to Trixie, closed her eyes, and opened them again. This time, her expression was extremely serious. With a grave and solemn voice, she uttered her next words: "Within 41 moons in the future, everyone must prepare for the arrival of the Dark Lord Pit Prompt. When the time comes, you will remember my words and must convey them to others."
"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooo" a chilling howl echoed throughout the desert. The great shadow egg floating in the sky had grown in size and begun to crack, giant claw-like appendages and antennas emerging from it. A large inverted triangle of orange light gleamed from within, a suffocating light.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA, YES! YES!" up in the sky, the evil being rejoiced as the new monstrous entity emerged.
Waves of black light began to pulsate from the cracking egg. The pyramids trembled in dazzling green light with each surge.
Twilight, deeply troubled, ignited her horn and opened a triangular portal of light, the same one through which Trixie had entered in the beginning.
"You must go back NOW!" Twilight ordered Trixie, taking her body with her magic. However, Trixie resisted, clinging to Starlight's inert body, refusing to leave her friend.
"NOOO, wait, Starlight is..." whimpered Trixie.
A more intense wave of black light erupted from the egg. The pyramids cracked, and their blocks were thrown into the dark sky. Twilight raised a powerful magical shield and struggled greatly against the impact of the explosion, keeping Trixie by her side. The triangular portal of light began to crack. Everything around them began to spin as if they were trapped in a vortex of destruction and darkness. In the center of it all, the colossal monster writhed.
A gigantic shadow claw, like a whip, lunged from the eye of the catastrophe towards Twilight and Trixie.
Faced with the imminent impact, Twilight, without uttering a single word, lowered her barrier, took Trixie with a strong magical grip, and threw her into the portal.
"AUUUUUU AUUUUUU" Trixie sank into the rainbow portal amid screams of dismay and a world collapsing. Behind, the last image of Twilight facing the darkness disappeared in a burst of bright light.
"Be brave, be brave..."
The echoes of the last words of the alicorn princess faded into chaos.
Trixie's consciousness traversed the dream world. The before and after mingled and clashed in her mind. The previous cracks of the triangular portal of light widened and separated.
The portal collapsed.
Trixie found herself lost, on the verge of reaching her destination. Drifting off course, she ended up falling into a time that shouldn't exist.
"Ouch," whimpered Trixie on the floor. She had fallen from the bench where she had slept all night.
As she opened her eyes, it was already morning, probably quite late judging by the angle of the sun streaming in through the window of her trailer.
Still feeling sleepy, she got up. Had she had any dreams?
She couldn't remember anything, except... octopuses and doors...
"Oh, my head. I shouldn't have drunk so much cider last night," exclaimed Trixie, with a heavy hangover. She could stay in bed; it was a holiday, and there really wasn't anything urgent to do...
Except for the meeting with Starlight in the afternoon.
Trixie, about to pour herself a glass of water, froze, letting all the liquid from the pitcher fall to the floor. The sudden memory of her dream, the only complete fragment still in her head, the one where Starlight and Chancellor Neighsay met, hit her thoughts head-on.
Had she had a premonition? Had she been visited in her dreams by someone else?
Trixie struggled to remember her dream. There were scattered images of shadows and stars in her memories, but she was unable to piece them together into a larger frame. Soon, her head began to ache from the effort. Frustrated, she sat down while trying to make sense of the only memories she still had. However, the more she thought about it, the more she was invaded by an inexplicable sense of doom and despair.
Then, suddenly, an idea came to her like an explosion.
"Is Starlight in danger?" she wondered to herself with a weak voice.
With a doubt growing inside her like a supernova, Trixie, taking her hat and cape, hastily left her trailer driven by the same force that a distressed young mother would have when looking for her child in danger.
Trixie had only one thought.
To meet with Starlight and confirm that everything was okay...